Retrieve Goddess Deception
by Immortelle Stalker
Summary: Ban and Ginji are faced with a unusual retrieval job in line with sorcery. Saving their will against deception is not going to be easy.


**Chapter 1: Haunting of the Past**

It is the usual scenario in the Honky Tonk, except for the fact that Ban and Ginji are actually paying for their meals. During their last retrieval job, the client paid them a decent amount of money to clear off their debts and can keep them going for a while. Even though Hevn took 10 percent out of their pay, the swaggering Ban didn't complain. Ginji helped out Natsumi in drying the dishes while Ban took a short nap at the corner of the shop. Paul is busy doing his usual habit of reading the newspaper.

"I'm glad you guys were finally able to get paid for the job." Natsumi said with enthusiasm. "I almost thought that you guys really have bad luck when it comes to money." The girl added as she sweatdropped. Ginji shook his head with a silly smile plastered on his face. "Iie, Natsumi-chan! We won't be hungry for a while! Hehehe.." Natsumi nodded in agreement. While the two are talking, the door chime rang and a girl stepped into the restaurant.

Ginji and Natsumi looked at the girl. Her face is somewhat covered by the black hood that she's wearing. She bowed down at Ginji and Natsumi and looked at them for a while. Then, she spoke up in a low tone."Anou, good morning… May I ask where I might find the Get Backers please? I need them for a job."

Ginji smiled at the girl and woke Ban from his nap. He invited the girl to sit with them and discuss the retrieval job. The girl bowed down and took off her coat and hood. On Ginji's opinion, the girl is kind of nice, yet weird. She has mismatched eyes, one is blue and the other is red. Her brown hair reached her shoulders. He can't help but notice the pendant on her necklace, which looked really strange. She is silent for a while as she looked at the Get Backers and held her necklace.

Ban took a deep breath and began to speak. "So, what do you want for us to retrieve? We offer 100 success rate…" He looked at the girl for a while. "But before that… would you mind telling us your name? Or maybe get acquainted first? It's hard to do a job for someone that you don't know right?" he raised up his hand and made his formal introductions.

The girl nodded as she cleared her throat. "Yes, you're right… Mido-san… My name is Shinji. You see, my father sent me here to ask for your help in retrieving a very rare artifact." She quickly withdrew from Ban's eyes, attracting the attention of Ginji. "I'm sorry. I cannot look straight into your eyes… For whoever makes eye contact with me will see a bad future."

"Bad future, you say?" Ban asked simply. He knew that the girl is not an ordinary being at all. Shinji nodded as she gripped her hood and slid it off her back. "Yes it is. It alters the future that fate has initially planned for you. My eyes always show death and failure, and right after that, the vision that you saw will happen to you." she continued.

"Wha! That's scary…" Ginji shivered but managed to force up a nervous smile in his face. _Oh man… Talk about freaky! And I thought the evil eye is bad enough already… _"Now, what is it that you wanted to us to retrieve?"

Shinji gazed out the window and kept a stern face. "I'm warning you… The job is risky. It's okay if you decline. Hear the story first before you say anything, wakarimasuka?" The two retrieval agents nodded as they prepared to listen to Shinji.

"I want you to retrieve the Kage Kuroi. It is a rare and well-refined black gemstone. If you sell it, you can easily buy a whole continent. But it won't be easy, for it's not an ordinary gemstone. A long time ago, a sorcerer put a spell on that ruby. He sealed it off and asked our tribe to protect it for him. That same ruby was the reason why so many kingdoms fought and hated each other. They all wanted to get their hands on that ruby. It is pure evil, and can captivate anyone who sees it. The sorcerer tried to alter the stone's evil powers, or weaken its charm power. But, a few months after that, according to his assistant he died because of the evil spirit that resides inside the stone. Both the stone and the spirit are tempting and can fool anyone. Whoever lets their guard down while trying to find the stone will be easily carried by its evil power. Worse, it can betray you. So be careful…" Shinji narrated.

Ban nodded as he fixed his eyes on Shinji's pendant. He tried to remember what her grandmother told him before. "Shinji, you're from a cult in Europe aren't you? A cult of sorcery practitioners to be precise…" Ban muttered.

Shinji looked at Ban as she smiled faintly. She quickly looked away and nodded. "Yes, very good, Mido-san… You are indeed brilliant. I believe you grew up in Europe, and that your grandmother passed to you the Evil Eye and taught you the snake bite." Shinji replied in a low tone.

Ban fixed his glasses and looked past Shinji. He is aware that even his Evil Eye can't block the power in Shinji's eyes. _Those eyes… I can recognize those eyes anywhere. _"You know a lot about me… I didn't know that my grandmother is that famous in the line of witchcraft and sorcery." he said sarcastically. "But, what I don't understand is that, you're from Europe, so how did you end up here in Japan?" he asked.

Raiki lowered her head and looked at the cup in front of her. "My mother is Japanese. She doesn't have the blood of a sorceress. She stayed here in Japan and convinced me to go with my father and live with him until I reached the right age. My father sent me here to seek help, and spend time with my mother." she replied.

Ginji blinked as he looked at Shinji. "Demo… Shinji –chan. There's something that I can't quite get. You're a sorceress, and I think a very powerful one. But, why ask us to retrieve Kage Kuroi while you can easily do it yourself? No offense, Shinji-chan…" Ginji asked.

Shinji smiled as she lowered her head. "Ginji-kun, I've been waiting for you to ask that question. You see, my father disapprove of me doing the job. Kuroi is after me. He told me that I'd be putting not only my life in danger, but also the whole cult. But, don't worry, I'd still be helping out… Now, what do you say? Are you willing to take the job?" Shinji said as she kept herself from looking into their eyes.

Ban sighed as he thought of the danger. But, the job of the Get Backers is to retrieve and to get back things that are stolen. They haven't failed in any job. He believes that the danger of the Kage Kuroi stone is not only for the sorcerers, but to Japan as well. "Okay… we will take the job." Ban muttered as Ginji nodded with a grin on his face.

"Thank you, Get Backers" Shinji bowed down with a slight tone of gratefulness in her voice. Ban and Ginji nodded as she let go of the pendant. "Kuroi… is in Mugenjou. According to ancient scriptures and prophecies, It is looking for a master that it can possess." she muttered as she lowered her head. "I believe the master is nearby…" she added.

Ban and Ginji walked Shinji to the door. Natsumi rushed to the door and opened it for Shinji as she smiled sweetly. "Arigatou gozaimas! Please come back again!" Natsumi cheerfully greeted. Shinji smiled at Natsumi. But she froze in her place as she managed to look at her. _I found my master… _Shinji snapped back to reality as she walked outside. Ginji went back to the Honky Tonk with Ban following him. But Shinji pulled his arm and closed the door behind her.

"Eh? Ban-chan?" Ginji looked back and saw Ban with Shinji. "Hehe! Ban-chan is SO popular with girls…" he muttered as he snickered and sat at the counter.

Ban looked at Shinji and arranged his purple shades. Shinji pulled up her hood and held her pendant again. "Mido-san… I just want to tell you, don't let your guard down as soon as you get inside that restaurant," she whispered to him.

Ban took out a cigarette and lighted it. "Gotcha… I sense you felt something inside, haven't you?" Ban replied as he shifted his eyes through the window.

Shinji nodded as she sighed. She walked away, trusting Ban that he will not fail her. Ban watched the young sorceress as she walked away and disappeared to a nearby crowd. _Shinji… I see they erased all your memories of our time spent together. _He then went inside the Honky Tonk and looked around. Nothing seems to be wrong, or odd about the restaurant, if you look at it using the naked eye. But for Ban, something is utterly out of the ordinary. He called Ginji and pulled him by the window.

"Ginji, contact your friends in Mugenjou. Tell them to give you a hand in finding Kuroi. I need to keep an eye on something in here." Ban muttered to Ginji.

Ginji looked at him and groaned. "Demo… Ban-cha—"

"Look, I accepted the job because Kuroi is a really powerful and dangerous gemstone. We have to make sacrifices. That gemstone is still in Mugenjou and it's still not that powerful because it doesn't have a master yet. I'll be staying here because the most powerful will most likely to attack here. Are you getting what I'm saying? Get Kuroi while it's still weak…" Ban explained with sterness.

Ginji is silent for a while. He then looked at Ban and nodded. "Okay Ban-chan! I'll get back Kage Kuroi and make you proud! I know you don't want to let Shinji-chan down." Ginji exclaimed with his eyes shining.

Ban bonked him on the head lightly as he muttered, "Foolish kid! Don't let me down…" He fixed his glasses and seated in one of the benches. Ginji will leave tomorrow for Mugenjou.

Early the next morning, Ginji woke up from a knocking sound from the windshield. He opened his eyes and squinted at the early sunlight. Ban was outside the car, yelling something that he can't quite hear clearly. Ginji opened the door and received a very painful bonk on the head from Ban.

"Why you! Didn't I tell you to go to Mugenjou first thing in the morning! What are you still doing slacking around?" yelled Ban as he shook Ginji.

"Waaahhh… Gomen Ban-chan!" Ginji pleaded as he sobbed. Ban sighed as he muttered under his breath. "Oh, just go now Ginji… We don't have time to goof off." Ginji saluted as he went inside the Honky Tonk to have breakfast. After a while, he left for Mugenjou.

"Eh? Ban-san… Aren't you coming with Ginji-san?" Natsumi asked as she did her usual routines. She doesn't have classes on a Saturday so she works for the whole day. Ban nodded and lighted his cigarette. Natsumi smiled as she continued on with her work. Ban composed himself and looked around. Nothing seems peculiar here, unlike yesterday when he felt some sort of dark presence. He lighted his first cigarette for the day and let his mind drift away. _Who would have thought we'd meet again at this time…_

_Flashback_

"_Ban, you're so slow!" a 15-year old Shinji called out to Ban as she looked back._

"_Unfair! You started first so I was left behind!" Ban called back. He was only 16 at that time and Shinji was 15. They were still in Europe and they're the only young ones in that secluded village for the aristocrats. The 16-year old Ban has a hidden affection for Shinji since then._

"_Hey Ban! You shouldn't let me win all the time you know… It hurts on my part. You're showing mercy on your opponent!" Shinji exclaimed as she smiled. The girl still has long brown hair that reached below her shoulders. She had mismatched eyes since birth, probably because of some minor malfunction in her eye color. Or maybe it was because she has the blood of a sorcerer._

_A few months later…_

"_Where is Shinji going grandmother!" Ban bellowed as he looked out the window. "She didn't even say goodbye!"_

_Ban's grandmother lowered her head as she gripped the boy with her snake bite. "Have you forgotten that Shinji is a part of a cult? Her memories are going to be erased and she will practice her sorcery. Ties weaken the forced will, Ban… You know that."_

"_Let go grandma! I can still catch her! Give me this chance!" Ban screamed as he tried to loosen his grandmother's grip. The old witch let Ban go as she watched him ran out into the rain._

"_Shinji!" Ban called out as he saw Shinji wearing a mantle and hood. The merciless rain poured down on the two of them. Shinji looked back and froze in her place._

"_Ban…" she muttered as she gripped her hood. Ban stood in front of her and looked directly into her eyes. "You don't need to be a sorceress if you don't want to!" he bellowed. Shinji pushed him away as she closed her eyes. "You fool! Haven't I told you not to look into my eyes!"_

_That's when he saw it. He saw Shinji's memory get erased in front of his very eyes. It was only a hallucination… But it seemed so real. _

"_Stay away from Shinji!" her cousin shouted as he picked up a pipe and aimed at Ban. But Shinji managed to shield Ban from her cousin as the pipe hit her back. The girl fell down on the cold ground, as her body was soaked in the muddy pool of water. _

"_Shinji!" Ban exclaimed as he saw Shinji fall right before his eyes. _

"_Ban… I…" Shinji muttered under her breath. Her cousin gripped her head as he placed his hand on her eyes. "Wrong move kid! She is destined to be a sorceress and you know that!" he muttered and with a flash of light, all of Shinji's memories were erased._

Ban lowered his head as he lighted his cigarette. Shinji looked very different than before. Shinji is one year older than him, so she is just the same age as Ginji. _Is the altered future actually when her memories got erased? If I didn't look into her eyes, then maybe she chose to stay…_Then Ban felt another strong presence lurking nearby. He stood up and looked around. _Is Kuroi's master nearby? The aura seems to flicker on and off… Is it looking around here? _Ban sat back and watched the whole area. He then saw a dark shadow passed by the window at the corner of his eye. He quickly stood up and opened the window. _Tsk... I'm too jumpy… Maybe it was just a bird._ He thought as he went back to his seat.

_No one can outsmart death… If I can't have the sorceress, I'll have someone much better than her…_ a whisper echoed with the wind as a shadow stood outside the window.


End file.
